Born in 1997 in Kien Giang, Bao as a child became familiar with various traditional art forms. The passion for discovering heritage values became strong when he was studying architecture at Monash University in Australia. From there, he began cherishing the dream of researching and introducing Vietnam’s culture and arts to the world.

At present, Bao is an antique collector and independent researcher about Nguyen Dynasty arts. Undertaking the work of recreating the royal costumes of the dynasty, he has authored many projects on preserving cultural and historical features through costumes and shoes.

One of the most outstanding projects was about the Nguyen Dynasty’s patterns on shoes. His work created enthusiasm for a Hoa Quan Le Phuc revival (Resplendent Costumes) of Nguyen Royal imperial costumes, and he became famous for this project.

The three costumes were made with materials mostly from antiques in his private collections.

“After every process, I admired even more the artifacts of our ancestors. Only when learning and understanding deeply will we be able to take pride in the aesthetic value of our ancestors and bring it to the world in a professional and proper manner,” Bao told VietNamNet.

Regarding the Imperial Wedding Nhat Binh, the product was inspired by the photo of Empress Nam Phuong wearing a red robe. The costume was less sophisticated than other ones she wore in the past, but it is special because it was the first imperial robe she wore at the wedding with King Bao Dai. 

For the project on Hoa Quan Le Phuc, Bao and his co-worker, painter Nguyen Phung Minh Luan, had to spend many months and their own money. They tried to recreate the costumes so that they are closest to the old days’ quality.

They always try to harmonize recreation of costumes, so that the products are closest to the old days’ quality, and the commercialization of them as professional artwork.

Their clients could be museums, collectors, restaurants and eateries which want to display the artworks symbolizing the Hue Imperial Arts, but feel insecure about the preservation and the fragility of real antiques.

The 9X painter has just launched a collection of Lunar New Year shoes with innovative designs.More recently, Bao has been invited by the Bach Ma Temple Relic Management Board to join the project on conserving newly discovered artifacts – the 4 masterpiece robes, more than 100 years old, which have been neglected for decades. Bao believes that the products were created in the 19-20th centuries.

Tuan Nguyen